What are the three types of plate boundaries?

• A. Convergent, divergent, and transform
• B. Oceanic, Continental, Mantle
• C. Subduction, collision, and rotation
• D. Ridge, trench, plateau

Answer: (A)

Movement between tectonic plates is categorized by how the plates interact: they can move toward one another, away from one another, or slide past each other. When plates collide, that’s a convergent boundary, often leading to subduction or continental collision and forming mountains or deep trenches. When plates pull apart, that’s a divergent boundary, where new crust is created as magma rises, commonly creating mid-ocean ridges or rift valleys. When plates slide past one another, that’s a transform boundary, where the grinding motion along faults triggers earthquakes.

The other options mix up concepts: naming oceanic, continental, or mantle describes layers, not boundary types. Subduction, collision, and rotation mix processes with an inaccurate term for one of the motions (rotation isn’t a boundary type). Ridge, trench, and plateau are surface features or zones, not the classification of boundary motion.

So the three types of plate boundaries are convergent, divergent, and transform.